Build To Minister

But while DFO didnt see fit to disclose its findings to the Stol:lo, it did notify representatives of the aquaculture industry at the time, the Inquiry learned – yet another slap in the face to First Nations.

Under questioning from the Sto:los lawyer, DFO senior manager Stephen Stephen fell back on his default defence throughout his appearance at the Inquiry:
I want to reiterate, we do not report unconfirmed results.” Dr. Kim
Klotins of the CFIA, seated next to him chimed in, We did not involve
the Stol:lo Nation – I didn’t realize there was an agreement with them.
Ms. Schabus fired back, “Not an agreement – an obligation!” (emphasis added).

Later,
Krista Roberts, counsel for the Musgamagw Tsawataineuk Tribal Council
(the Broughton Archipelago First Nations), asked Dr. Klotins whether the
CFIA had consulted First Nations in the development of its
surveillance plan, which will only begin to sample and test a few
hundred fish for ISAv this Spring (they have yet to conduct a single sample and test of their own!).
After much hemming and hawing, Dr. Klotins conceded, We have not yet
engaged in discussion with First Nations. Were just putting that plan
together and information will be put out in the New Year.

Robertson
continued, Did you have communication with the First Nations in Rivers
Inlet [where the ISA positives in Oct 2011 were reported]? No,
replied Dr. Klotins. Clearly, the CFIA could use a tutorial about its
constitutional requirements in dealing with First Nations in BC. Judging
by Dr. Klotins performance on the stand, it is as though theyve never
even heard of title and rights – nor would it appear have many of DFOs
higher-ups.

The Inquiry also saw an
email communication between a First Nations
fisheries officer asking a DFO representative whether his organization
could offer any help in sampling wild sockeye to test for ISAv this
Fall following the discovery of the virus in wild BC salmon. The DFO
officer replied simply, At this point in time we do not feel
that more sampling for ISAv is warranted.

Earlier on, under questioning from Leah Pence, counsel for the First
Nations Coalition, Stephen Stephen had acknowledged DFO has not been
communicating at all with First Nations with respect to ISAv. When Ms.
Pence showed evidence that the BC Salmon Farmers Associations chief
flack Mary-Ellen Walling had been included in a technical briefing
regarding ISAv on November 10, 2011, Dr. Klotins had nothing but empty
stammering to offer in response.

In the
brief time the three lawyers representing First Nations had with the
witnesses on this final day of the Commission, a clear pattern emerged,
wherein fish farmers enjoy far more inside access and special privileges
with regards to ISAv and other important matters to do with wild salmon
than do First Nations with constitutionally enshrined legal rights. And
no one among the DFO and CFIA representatives on the stand had a
remotely plausible explanation for this discrepancy.

Much has
been made over the years by the likes of BC Conservative Party Leader
John Cummins – who was unquestionably instrumental in making the
Commission happen in the first place, in his former career as a federal
Conservative MP – about abuses of the Food, Social and Ceremonial (FSC)
fisheries by First Nations. The representative for the Fisheries
Survival Coalition at the Inquiry, Phil Eidsvik, drew plenty of media attention when he questioned Ernie Crey, fisheries advisor to the Sto:lo Tribal Council, on the subject this past summer.

Mr. Eidsvik pressed Mr. Crey about a Globe and Mail article
in which DFO alleged a black market has sprung up around the FSC
fishery, whereby salmon for food and cultural practices, to which First
Nations have a legal right, are being improperly sold for profit. Mr.
Crey downplayed the allegation on the stand. “When we do sell fish that
we catch, we do so under agreements with Fisheries and Oceans Canada. We
also have food social and ceremonial fisheries. Those fish are intended
for just what it’s described as,” Crey told the Inquiry. Mr. Eidsvik
pressed on, asking whether the Sto:lo ever suffered from a lack of fish
specifically due to these sales. “Not that I’m aware of,” Mr. Crey
replied.

I dont intend to wade into the complex legal debate
about First Nations rights or lack thereof to sell FSC fish. Moreover,
Id be prepared to wager there are in fact abuses that occur within
aboriginal fisheries – just as there are amongst commercial and sports
fisheries. How many sporties sneak a barbed treble hook on the end of
their line when theyre beyond the watchful gaze of fisheries officers -
or stuff an extra Chinook or two in their cooler at the end of the day?

But those who choose to hang the whole mystery of disappearing
Fraser sockeye on abuses within different fisheries are misguided in
doing so; more importantly, theyre missing a golden opportunity
presented by the Cohen Commission to deal with a much larger problem
confronting our precious sockeye: namely, salmon farms. For never has
there been a better window to clear the migratory routes of our Fraser
sockeye of these virus and parasite breeding factories than now.

But
it wont happen with Justice Cohens non-binding recommendations, due
out this summer (Ill be surprised if the Commissioner can meet this
revised deadline, especially in view of all the new eye-opening material
and testimony entered into the record during the final three days of
the Inquiry – dealing specifically with ISA virus). No matter how strong
Justice Cohens report turns out to be, Stephen Harper can hardly be
expected to implement it in full – nor, specifically, to take decisive
remedial steps against the impacts of fish farms without the full force of media and public pressure.

The
most instructive models to inform the path forward for dealing with
open cage feedlots come from the campaigns currently being waged against
the proposed Prosperity Mine and the Enbridge pipeline from the Alberta
Tar Sands to Kitimat. Both have been – I would suggest – highly
successful thus far; both involve squaring off against unsympathetic
provincial and federal majority governments and large, wealthy resource
corporations. Both have one more crucial thing in common: the
unification of First Nations – holding constitutionally entrenched legal
rights to their ancestral lands, waters and traditional ways of life -
with environmental groups and non-aborigial citizens.

In the case
of Taseko Mines proposed Prosperity Mine – in the Tsilhqotin Plateau,
west of Williams Lake – the projects first iteration was rejected by
none other than the Harper Governments Ministry of Environment,
following a strong opposition campaign led by the local First Nations,
but supported by nearly every major environmental group in BC and
legions of non-aboriginal citizens. When the company tried recently to
begin work on a modified version of the mine – after being granted
premature permits by the trigger-happy provincial Clark Government – it
again ran smack into a wall. This time it came in the form of an injunction obtained by the Tsilhqotin peoples at the BC Supreme Court, once again demonstrating the power of First Nations legal rights, backed up by vocal, committed non-First Nations supporters.

Of course, the Enbridge saga is far from over, but the historic banding together of 131 First Nations
across Alberta and BC – again, backed by a large coalition of
conservation groups, wilderness tourism operators and tens of thousands
of highly mobilized citizens – will prove to be an insurmountable
barrier for the pipeline, I would argue. The specific structure of this
Enbridge opposition campaign – namely the Save the Fraser Declaration,
a pledge to protect the waters, salmon, and traditional way of life of
these communities and territories from the threat of an oil spill -
could be easily adapted, or repeated in some form, to address the
impacts of salmon farms.

The coalition is there already; its
power has been demonstrated. All it would take would be for many of the
same First Nations in the Fraser and Skeena watersheds to unite in
opposition to salmon farms – with the full support of conservation
groups, wilderness tourism operators and citizens, just as they have
done with the Enbridge issue – and the Norwegian aquaculture behemoths
would be facing a very comparable challenge to that which Enbridge now
faces.

There is of course one major challenge to such a coalition
– deeply embedded in the political protocols of First Nations. That is,
First Nations dont believe they should tell their neighbouring nations
how to conduct themselves within their own territories. So while many
First Nations are squarely opposed to the salmon farming industry, there
are a few – around Campbell River, near Port Hardy, in Clayoquot Sound
and near the village of Klemtu on the central coast, for instance -
which have working relationships with the industry. But much like a
pipeline or tanker traffic, what happens with fish farms within a given
territory has effects which ripple beyond that nations borders.

And
so, there is room – even a strong need – for diplomacy here. Such are
the revelations of government cover-ups, the insulting special treatment
of fish farmers and the severity of new viruses that have emanated from
the Cohen Commission that no longer can these matters be left unspoken.
It is time for the nations of the Fraser and Skeena basins to engage in
a frank discussion with their neighbours who inhabit the migratory
pathways of sockeye on the coast in order to ensure that wild salmon are
adequately protected for the benefit of all First Nations and non-aboriginal peoples.

The highlight of the big rally for wild salmon in Victoria,
led by Alexandra Morton in the Spring of 2010, was the coming together
of First Nations and other fisheries groups whove long been at
loggerheads over the sort of petty divisions alluded to earlier here. At
this historic event were longtime rivals John Cummins and Ernie Crey,
who crossed the Salish Sea together on the same ship, guiding a canoe
filled with diverse supporters of wild salmon who had just paddled down
the Fraser River – hosted by the Sto:lo and other First Nations along
the way – to make their way to the provincial capital.

There was
Hereditary Chief Frank Nelson of the Musgamagw peoples of the Broughton
standing alongside old Billy Proctor – a veteran commercial pink salmon
fisherman from the same region. Billy declared, Theres been some
divisions over the years, but its great to see us all getting together
at last, inspiring one of the days biggest cheers. Nelson followed,
telling the crowd of over 5,000, Weve always been told that our drums
beat like a heartbeat amongst our First Nations people. But Ive heard
all of us beating together on the drum today. We shall move forward to
make every effort that Alexandra has done to ensure there is a place for
our children.

They all spoke of putting the past behind them and uniting in a common cause to rid our waters of fish farms.

That was less than two years ago, but so much has changed in that time. It is now clear from the Cohen Commission that we have more viruses affecting our wild fish than wed even imagined. It is obvious that the DFO and CFIA see themselves far more are protectors and promoters of the salmon farming industry
than as guardians of our wild fish and the public interest. It is also
obvious that neither department, nor the salmon farming industry, views
First Nations with anything less than complete and utter disrespect. And
it is plain to see that our wild fish are dying more of greed and
politics than they are of any natural cause.

So now is the time
for First Nations – with their undeniable legal strengths – and all
concerned conservation groups, businesses that depend on the health of
our wild salmon and the ecosystems the support, and the citizens of
British Columbia to come together as one and force the Harper
Government to make good on the promise of the Cohen Commission and to
take decisive action to rid our coastal waters of Norwegian fish farms.

It
is only by our collective success or failure to bring about this result
that we will be able to judge the true value of the Cohen Commission -
and our own commitment to saving our treasured wild fish.